QB Johnny Manziel admits to ‘rookie mistakes’

BEREA, Ohio – Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel knew questions about his off-field behavior were coming, so he brought up the topic first.

“I’ve made some rookie mistakes,” the first-round draft pick from Texas A&M said.

Manziel, 21, addressed his fraternity-guy-gone-wild behavior, which included photos of him hanging out poolside in Las Vegas with Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and swigging champagne on an inflatable swan raft in a Texas club.

“There’s some things that I wish I could’ve gone back and done a little differently,” he said.

Manziel said he doesn’t think his busy social calendar has hurt his chances to beat out Brian Hoyer, who is listed as the starting quarterback.

Nicks to leave Bucs

TAMPA, Fla. – Carl Nicks has abandoned his bid to get back on the field with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Team officials and the injured two-time Pro Bowl guard mutually agreed to “part ways” after two disappointing seasons in which Nicks, 29, appeared in a mere nine games after signing a five-year, $47.5 million contract in free agency.

Ballard is injured

ANDERSON, Ind. – Indianapolis running back Vick Ballard was carted off the Colts’ practice field with a left-leg injury.

Ballard, 24, wasn’t hit on the play. He has a torn Achilles tendon, according to multiple reports, and therefore might miss the season.

Ballard rushed for 814 yards as a rookie in 2012 and gained 63 yards in last season’s opener before tearing a knee ligament in practice and missing the final 15 games.

McClain, who has been arrested three times in Decatur since 2011, was accused of yelling an obscenity at police trying to arrest him during a disturbance in a crowded city park in 2013. He was ordered to pay $1,572 in fines and court costs.

• Centers Mike (Miami Dolphins) and Maurkice Pouncey (Pittsburgh Steelers) have been sued by three people who contend the twins used homophobic slurs and attacked them July 12 at a Miami Beach, Fla., nightclub.

The Pounceys’ attorney has said the brothers, who were celebrating their birthday at the club, were not involved in any altercation.

• Standout receiver Andre Johnson had some issues with the Houston Texans, but they weren’t serious enough to keep him from reporting to camp on time.

Johnson, 33, is looking to move past an offseason where he skipped workouts and a mandatory minicamp after wondering in May whether Houston was “still the place for me.”

• St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford, 26, who missed the final nine games of last season because of a torn knee ligament, will have no restrictions during training camp.